Weather: snow to hit southern England as severe storms batter UK

Southern England will get its first snow of the winter this week as 80mph
winds and heavy rain lash Britain, forecasters say.

Image 1 of 4

A car drives down an unlit street, where a clock shows the time when the electricity went off on Thursday, in PitlochryPhoto: REUTERS

Image 1 of 4

A £2 million, 100 metre tall wind turbine catches fire in hurricane-force winds at Ardrossan, North Ayrshire, Scotland. The wind turbine was spinning so fast it caught fire. The engine of the giant turbine went up in flames and its blades were blackened by smoke. The turbine was one of 15 set up on hills overlooking the Scottish coast, built to supply green electricity to 20,000 homes.Photo: STUART MCMAHON

Image 1 of 4

The winter sun rises over the Somerset Levels viewed from Glastonbury TorPhoto: GETTY

Image 1 of 4

Largs promenade is battered by winds on December 8, 2011 in Largs, ScotlandPhoto: GETTY IMAGES

After weeks of milder-than-usual weather, southern counties are braced for a taste of the storms that brought travel chaos to Scotland and the North last week.

The Met Office last night warned of “potentially disruptive” strong winds and heavy rain for most of England on Monday, with the south-west and southern coast areas to be hit hardest.

Residents were warned to expect winds of up to 70mph and between two and three inches of rainfall, bringing the “risk of surface water flooding” until Tuesday.

Athough the winds are expected to ease in the middle of the week, snow is expected to fall on higher ground in parts of southern England including Dartmoor, Exmoor, as well as large areas of the north from Wales through to the Humber.

Daytime temperatures are set to fall to single figures, while night time temperatures are forecast to reach freezing levels.